In an email to 4,000 supporters, Beck Center President and CEO Cindy Einhouse warned that the nonprofit needed $150,000 by the end of the month, or else it would close.
Cindy Einhouse: This year is particularly difficult because for the first quarter contributions seemed to stop, particularly form our largest contributors.
Einhouse says foundation funding - approximately 40 percent of the center's $2.3 million annual budget - has dried up. Foundations hurt by the nosedive on Wall Street are cutting back donations. The Beck Center does not have an endowment or working capital fund to help them get through the economic downturn. Einhouse says she is trying to find places to cut, but without the funds, she will have to cut to the bone to keep the center's doors open May 1st.
Cindy Einhouse: It depends on how much the staff is willing and able to forego paychecks really.
The Beck Center employs 22 full time salaried and about 40 teachers on a seasonal basis. The organization has been selected to work with arts management experts in Washington DC on crisis management during the downturn.